Table for constructing screens and the like



Feb. 20, 1934. Q R p s 1,947,794

TABLE FOR CONSTRUCTING SCREENS AND THE LIKE Filed April 27, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet l nz I Feb. 20, 1934. C R, p s 1,947,794

TABLE FOR CONSTRUCTING SCREENS AND THE LIKE Filed April 27, 1933 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TABLEFOR CONSTRUCTING SCREENS AND THE LIKE 7 Claims.

The invention relates to apparatus for building framed structures, suchas screens for windows, doors and the like, and has for its object toprovide a table-like device having a bed or top upon which the elementsof the structure are assembled and clamped in proper relation to beultimately secured together to form the desired structure, saidapparatus including guide rails extending from one corner of the bedtransversely and longitudinally, corner brackets slidable on said railsand adapted to be clamped in adjusted position thereon, guide barsextending from said brackets in intersecting relation, a floating clampadapted to secure said bars at the intersection of the latter, fabricfeeding rolls located at one end of the table adapted to deliver meshfabric to the screen frame clamped to the bed and to stretch thepartially attached fabric over said frame preparatory to a completeattachment of the fabric to the frame.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2 is a side elevation. 2 Fig. 3 is anenlarged fragmentary plan view,

partly broken away, of one corner bracket.

Fig. 4 is a section on lined-40f Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a fragmentarylongitudinal section. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating 30the relation of the guide bars and floating corner bracket.

Fig. 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a section-on line 88 of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a section on line9-9 of Fig. 6. Fig. 10 is a section on line ll0 of Fig. 6. Fig. 11 is afragmentary plan view of the feed rollers and accessories.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of the same. 40 Fig. 13 is a section on line13-13 of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the longitudinal supports for thetable-like member provided with legs 2 and a fiat bed or top 3, thelatter being preferably rectangular in form and 0 having secured at ornear one end thereof a guide rail 4 in the form of an angle iron andalong one longitudinal edge a similar guide rail 4, said rails beingmitered at their junction at one corner of the bed and constitutingabutments with which one rail and one stile of which the screen orsimilar structure is fabricated engage in the manner and formillustrated in Fig. l.

Slidably mounted on the guide rail 4 is a corner bracket having anupstanding flange of substantially the same height as the verticalflange of the guide rail 4, which bracket is provided with a y0ke6 whichstraddles the guide rail 4 and is adapted to be clamped to said guiderail and held rigidly in its clamped position by means of a wear blockor strip extending longitudinally of the yoke and which is adapted to beforced into enagement with the vertical flange of the guide rail bymeans of a set screw 9 engaging a threaded boss 8 formed as an extensionof a reinforcement 7 of the said yoke 6. Secured to the free end of thebracket 5 by rivet 11' is a guide bar 11, which extends longitudinallyof the bed 3 in substantial parallelismwith the guide rail 4.

A similar corner bracket 5 is adjustably mounted on guide rail 4 and isadapted to be locked in its adjusted position by a set screw 9', saidcorner bracket having a guide bar 12 attached to its free end by rivetl2 and extending transversely of the table and normally in parallelismof the end guide rail 4.

The two guide bars 11 and 12 are adapted to be clamped together, attheir intersection, to form a square corner by means of a special formof floating clamp which comprises a right-angled base 15 adapted toengage the top of the bed and provided with intersecting rabbets 16 onthe inner edges of its top surface to receive and guide the bars 11 and12 and lock the latter to form a rectangular corner abutment for thewindow or dbor screen, said bars being held in locked position by a setscrew 19 threaded in a yoke piece 1'7, which is secured in diagonalrelation to the base 15 by rivets 18.

By this particular arrangement of parts, it is possible to secure therails and stiles of the rectangular frame constituting the body portionof the closure for a window, door or the like, and more particularly theframe for a screen, in which the joints at the corners are mitered andadapted to be fastened together by a series of corner brackets or bracesto produce a rigid structure. By virtue of the adjustable cornerdefining brackets 5 and 5' mounted on the guide rails 4 and 4', thefloating clamp and. the intersecting guide bars 11 and 12, a rectangularframe of any size within the capacity of the table or bed may beassembled and firmly clamped in position on the bed to permit the finalfastening means to be attached at the various points of juncture of theframe elements to convert the same into a rigid structure, and, if theframework is to receive a covering of wire mesh fabric. to permit thelatter to be applied to the framework while the latter is still held inits clamped relation.

In order to facilitate the application of the wire mesh fabric to theassembled frames, there is mounted on the legs at one end of the table apair of brackets 20 in which a roll of mesh fabric may be supported topermit free rotation of the roll, so that the mesh fabric may bewithdrawn therefrom, as desired.

Secured to the end of the bed 3, above the brackets 20, are brackets 25,in which are mounted a pair of transversely located feed rolls 31 and34. The roll 31 is provided with end pintles 32, which are journaled inlongitudinal slots 26 formed in each bracket 25 and in loose bearingblocks 27 in the inner ends of said slots. The roll 34 is provided withend pintles 35 likewise mounted in the slots 26 and engaged by bearingblocks 28, which latter are acted upon by helical springs 29 mounted inthe outer ends of the respective slots and held in position by coverplates 30. The springs 29 normally tend to force the rollers together,so that, when one of said rollers is rotated by means of a crank 45 ontheend of its pintle or journal, the rotation of the rollers will feedthe wire mesh fabric through the latter. In order to separate the rollsa sumcient distance to permit the mesh fabric to be introduced betweenthem, the pintles 35 of the roll 34 are each provided with a cam 36having an operating handle 3'7, so that, when the cams are moved to theposition illustrated in Fig. 13, roll 34 will be moved away from roll 31a slight distance. When the cams are adjusted to the positionillustrated in Fig. 12, the springs 29 will force the roll 34 intoengagement with roll 31 or into engagement with the mesh fabricintroduced between the rolls.

As stated, the particular function of these rolls is to facilitate theapplication of the mesh fabric to the screen frame, that is to say, tofeed a sufficient length of the mesh fabric to cover the frame and, whenone end of the mesh fabric has been attached to the frame, to apply thenecessary tension to the fabric to stretch the same taut over the frame,whilethe additional attaching means are applied to secure the fabric tothe frame.

After the necessary length of fabric has been fed by the rolls 34 andone end of the fabric secured to the remote end of the frame, the feedrolls are rotated in a direction opposite that required to feed thefabric, thereby stretching the fabric between its line of attachment tothe screen frame and the feed rolls and the fabric is held in thisstretched condition by means of spring pawls 41 attached to the brackets25, which cooperate with ratchets 40 fast on the end pintles 35 of theroll 34, as more particularly shown in Fig. 12. After the mesh fabrichas been stretched over the frame, it is tacked or secured in positionon the frame in the usual manner and the overlapping portions of thefabric are trimmed away, thereby leaving the free end of the fabricextending through the rolls ready for the next operation.

During all of the operations, the screen or door frame is held in firmlyclamped relation on the bed and, when the structure has been completed,it is readily released from such clamped relation by casting loose thecorner brackets 5 and 5 and the floating clamp.

What I claim is:

1. A table for constructing screens and the like, comprising a bed,guide rails extending from one corner transversely and longitudinally ofsaid bed, corner brackets slidable on said rails, means for clampingsaid brackets in adjusted position on said rails, guide bars extendingfrom said brackets in intersecting relation, and a floating clampadapted to secure said bars at the intersection of the latter.

2. A table as described in claim 1, in which the corner brackets areprovided with guiding and. clamping yokes engaging the guide rails.

3. A table as described in claim 1, in which the floating clampcomprises a base having intersecting rabbets disposed at right-angles toeach other to receive the guide bars and a clamping yoke spanning theintersection of the rabbets.

4. A table for constructing screens and the like, comprising a bed,fixed guide rails extending from one corner transversely andlongitudinally of said bed, clamping corner brackets adjustable alongsaid rails, guide bars extending in intersecting relation from saidcorner brackets, a floating clamp adapted to secure said bars at theintersection of the latter, and transverse rolls at one end of the bedfor feeding and stretching mesh fabric over a frame clamped to the bed.

5. A table as described in claim 4, in which the feed rolls are engagedwith each other by spring pressure.

6. A table as described in claim 4, in which the feed rolls are engagedwith each other by spring pressure and are provided with cam mechanismfor separating them.

7. A table as described in claim 4, in which one of said feed rolls isprovided with a stop device to lock the same to hold the mesh fabric inclamped relation between the rolls.

CHARLES R. PARRISH.

